Reflections on the SERT experience

SERT is a research initiative, of course, but we’re a team first. And one of the primary outcomes of SERT is its impact on the student researchers themselves. Part research methods seminar, part experiential learning program, part literacy and graduate school prep experience – SERT is what the students make it and what we learn about ourselves along the way. We prompt each other to reflect deeply on the experience of participating and co-building the year-long research initiative that SERT is and so here we share some of those insights.

On June 8, 2020 SERT presented our work via webinar to the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services (CACUSS). Watch or listen as we describe our projects, the SERT method, and lessons learned.

SERT has provided me with a number of skills and opportunities. SERT has taught me how to be a strong researcher. SERT has allowed me to care about research and has showed me the power of student voices. Through the exploration of literature I’ve learned the importance of storytelling and the impact stories have on creating change. An important value of SERT is giving back the stories to our participants and not using power to misuse the information they shared with us. Being a part of this team has taught me the importance of ethics and how to treat research participants ethically. Most importantly SERT has allowed me to find my voice and has provided me with the opportunity to use my voice. SERT has informed me of my individual biases and the ways to remove our biases so we can create and participate in conversations. Working with such a diverse group SERT has allowed me to grow and understand the lived experiences of others and provided me with the opportunity to listen to those experiences. Due to my experience on SERT I plan on continuing in the field of research and attending graduate school. SERT has strengthened my researching skills and I have the intention of taking the skills and knowledge I learned by being a part of this team to further develop my education and understanding of the world.

Vanessa henry, SERT 2018-2019
Read our article “disrupting traditional research methods: Social work students speak on their experience in an arts-based virtual placement” to learn about the third instalment of Sert at the office of social innovation
SERT 2018-2019, the inaugural team, presents our research gallery at the ARTeries Undergraduate Research Conference in March 2019. From left to right: Matthew Tulloch, Emkay Adjei-Manu, Tesni Ellis, Alicia Churilla, Zinab Bakroun, Ryan Mawdsley, Vanessa Henry, and John Hannah

SERT has lead me to appreciate process; in the beginning we had many deep discussions about arts based research, the student experience, and more. While it allowed me to become close to my fellow researchers, the process also reassured me that we were prepared and understood our research environment fully. I was eager to begin the research, but the preparation made SERT a part of my personal identity first; it was almost like we created a preliminary thesis about SERT before the actual focus groups. The group I have the pleasure of being apart of is wide spread in interests and capabilities. We all come from different faculties and different background histories – all united in our goal of wanting to better the student experience for our peers and students to come. The most rewarding parts have been our meetings together, learning from each other and having deeply intense conversations about subjects important to Ryerson and our project.

Alicia Churilla, SERt 2018-2019
  • A doodle by Daniel that includes a face questioning, wondering, with a big question mark and the words “Arts Based Research” - below, a brick wall with the words RESEARCH across it is crashed into by “ABR” representing Arts Based Research” - the doodle evokes the way Arts Based Research, in Daniel’s experience, can break down the walls of traditional research.
    Daniel’s doodle reflection: What drew you to the SERT application? What initially drew me to the SERT application was the premise of arts-based research. I had never heard of that before, and up till then, I held the idea that research was inherently, cold, clinical and detached from the people we researched upon. Reading up on ABR broke that mold and created curiosity. I was excited to learn more.
  • A cartoon person with question marks in the place of their hands, and behind them a conveyor belt with "academic texts" and "research" crawling along it.
    Daniel’s doodle reflection: Do you recall any preconceptions/challenges you had when we began SERT? Given that student life is full of digesting academic texts, I felt like I had a sense of how a “report” should look and read. However, when I actually sat down and considered how the yearlong project would play out, I realized that my lack of formal research writing (previous to this) felt like a hindrance, or that I didn’t even know where/how it would start.
  • A drawing with the top labelled "THEN" and the bottom labelled "NOW" - In "then" there is a person's head with a swirling object around their head, representing how research "made my head spin" and in the bottom, there's a more confident-looking cartoon reading a book.
    Daniel’s doodle reflection: What did you gain from SERT experience? As research formerly felt like a closed-off world that I was magically granted access to, I am now more grounded in my ability as a researcher.
  • Two green cartoon people in conversation - one sitting on the ground, with ... coming from a speech bubble - they look up towards the second person, where !!! comes from their speech bubble.
    Daniel’s doodle reflection: What would you tell your past self coming into SERT? I would tell myself to not be so hesitant, and maybe be more secure in my ideas. A lot of the time, I found that everyone’s casual offerings led us down some really cool paths. Now I carry the awareness that even though a thought may not be fully formed, the team is always there to firm it up with support and critique.
In SERT 2.0’s last few sessions, we co-created some reflection activities that were conducted over Zoom. These were designed to allow us to collectively process the SERT experience and share the bittersweetness of saying goodbye. Here is a collection of thoughts that were shared in these sessions. The students bounce between many ideas: thinking about how their conception of research has changed through SERT, what they would have thought of the method if they were participants, and what skills they will be taking with them into the world after SERT. In this compilation you will also get a sense of the SERT process, including the use of drawings to develop complex feelings and the non-judgemental space for discussion. 
SERT 2019-2020: During COVID-19 we couldn’t meet together in person – we completed our project entirely over regular zoom calls. In our team photo from our last meeting “together” (a beach theme to try and have some fun) we have, from top left corner moving across: John Hannah, Tesni Ellis, MJ Wright; In the middle row from left, Daniel McIntosh, Gillian Webb, Claire Lowenstein; from bottom left, Sara Bakroun, Bilqees Mohamed.
MJ reflects on his experiences: Before SERT I had the perception that research, and academia in general, was an insular arena of work. It did not appear to be for the people, locked away and out of reach of the public. This is a struggle especially feeling that I have natural skills that would lead me to pursuing research as a career. But SERT’s work, from the very beginning was so unlike this perception. I can see the potential for our work to effect change in how institutions think about students, and I see how positive participating in research can be for the researcher and participant. SERT’s kind of like a step-ladder and key for this little dude in my drawing. I know that this year is likely an exception to the dominant structure of research, but being a part of an exception gives me hope that SERT’s philosophy can spread. First seeing the SERT job posting, I felt that what I was perceiving as the underlying philosophies of their work (especially the interdisciplinary and artistic emphasis, the focus on community work, and viewing the student experience holistically) was a perfect fir with how I already thought about school and life, and also a chance to develop my thinking in those areas and give back to students at the same time!

Our main goal is to improve the student experience at Ryerson university and I find it quite ironic that being a part of SERT has done just that for me! Our team is led by two educators who have extensive knowledge and years of experience. They possess certain qualities such as compassion and integrity and inspire me to be a better version of myself each day! During our meetings everyone is given the opportunity to speak and have their voice heard. There have been several instances in my life where I felt the need to modify myself in order to feel accepted but with SERT I feel this sense of belonging. When we are fully engaged, we connect with, laugh with, and uplift each other. It is also clear to see that our strength as a team is in our diversity and in our uniqueness. There’s tremendous power in a group of people who work together toward a shared goal and our goal is to change the student experience at Ryerson for the better though the use of arts-based research and non-traditional techniques. In the future I know that being a part of SERT will continue to help me grow and acquire the skills I need to develop my career.

zinab bakroun, sert 2018-2019

My experience at SERT has and will be more than just a job. It has allowed me to expand the way I conceptualize collaboration because the basis of our work has been a collaboration of many sort. For starters, arts-based research is a collaboration in and of itself. Learning about the ways in which art can be used as a valid tool of inquiry of self and our experience throughout the world has been validating to myself as someone who is both deeply passionate about art-based mediums such as photography and writing, as well as research and policy. Collaborating with one another as a team has also been exciting and bouncing ideas of once another has been nourishing to my growth as a student researcher.

Emkay adjei-manu, sert 2018-2019

The 2019-20 school year generally was full of experiences that re-enforced for me just how important being a part of a loving community is. SERT is one community that grew over this year, and also a space where I learned more, through our conversations and our research, about the importance of community and relationships, especially when we live in a world that teaches us to prioritize ourselves above all else. The quarantine could have turned out to be one of the most hopeless periods of my life. However, even though we’re apart physically, SERT’s weekly Zoom calls gives me a feeling of connection, all of us working towards a shared purpose. The community of SERT fills me with so much life, and a life that is building towards something instead of stagnating, contrasting with how I’ve felt so profoundly at other points in my life.

MJ Wright